Mets, Yankees should let deadline pass

Jul. 31, 2009

Written by

Sam Borden

Journal News sports columnist

The Mets and Yankees couldn't be further apart in terms of their present situations in the standings. Yet as they approach today's 4 p.m. trading deadline, their wisest course of action is nearly identical: Both teams should do some variation on nothing.

The Mets are the tougher situation to understand. While the Yankees are leading the AL East and were tied for the best record in the American League after last night's loss, the Mets are essentially adrift. Even putting aside the disastrous week that was with Omar Minaya, Tony Bernazard and the Daily News' Adam Rubin, their play on the field has left them on the precipice of irrelevance with two months still to go in the season.

Maybe they can make a run. Maybe they can use the five-wins last-six-game run that they're on to surge through September like the Rockies did a few years back. Maybe they can find a way to matter. Mets fans sure would like that, and so would the Mets' front office, who will have to deal with a lot of empty seats at their new park if the team slips all the way out of it.

Here's the catch: If they do figure a way back, it should be with (most of) the players they've already got. The worst thing the Mets could do right now is make a flailing trade, a desperate grab at adding someone to help, mostly because there isn't one player out there capable of doing that. Trying to find one would be repeating the horrendous mistakes of July 2004.

You remember that summer, don't you? Every Mets fan does. With the Mets in a similar position to the one they're in right now (seven games out that year), they dealt their top pitching prospect, Scott Kazmir, along with another minor-league pitcher, Joselo Diaz, to the then-Devil Rays for Victor Zambrano and Bartolome Fortunato.

The deal was a disaster on every level. Zambrano's Mets career lasted less than two years and Fortunato was a non-entity. Meanwhile, Kazmir went on to become one of the best young left-handers in baseball. Most importantly for purposes of this discussion, the 2004 Mets still missed the playoffs.

To recap: Hanging on the edge of the playoff picture in July, the Mets dealt away one of their greatest young pitching prospects in hopes of finding a veteran who could help them salvage their season. Instead, they lost a star, took on a broken-down journeyman and were home in October anyway.

What's that line about those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it?

Minaya might be feeling pressure to do something today because of his disastrous week - what better way to change the story than with a deal? - but the slew of Mets injuries has made this season more than just a one-player fix. At this point, the Mets would be better off hanging on to their prospects or, if they can stomach it, maybe even playing the role of seller in a small deal or two.

The Yankees might end up doing nothing as well, and that would be fine. They have found their form after the All-Star break, and if they took this exact roster into October, it would not be the worst thing. Their biggest concession would be extending Joba Chamberlain's innings limit a bit, and that's something that - despite lip service to the contrary - should be an easy call once the postseason comes near.

There's no denying that if the Yanks do make a move, it'll be for a pitcher. That is their biggest need, especially with Chien-Ming Wang gone for the season and the specter of Sergio Mitre as the fifth starter in perpetuity looming. If Brian Cashman can somehow pull off a deal for Roy Halladay, he should absolutely do it.

More likely, though, is a smaller deal. A minor deal. Maybe even a deal in August, involving a player who makes it through waivers. The Yankees don't need Halladay, not with the lineup they put out on a daily basis. If they do something, it could be an under-the-radar type move with potential, such as when they got Shawn Chacon from the Rockies (for two pitchers no one had ever heard of) in 2005. Chacon stepped into the back of their rotation and, despite having been 2-20 over the previous two-plus seasons, went 7-3 with a 2.85 ERA for the Yankees. It was the perfect move.

Today, Cashman and Minaya will burn through their cellphone batteries. They will check in with teams, hear plenty of proposals and mull over options with their respective staffs. It is a grind, a circus and surely one of the busiest days of the season.

It also might end up with neither team doing anything of note. And in both cases, that wouldn't necessarily be so bad.